There are a number of vending machines available to consumers. For example, a consumer may purchase bottled beverages, including soft drinks and water, coffee, etc. Among these options, bottled water has become more and more popular as a fast, safe, and convenient way to get water. However, there are negative aspects to the use of disposable plastic water bottles. Although a fraction of bottles are recycled or reused when emptied, a good number of the bottles are either thrown away or improperly disposed of (e.g., by littering). In addition, though a fraction of the bottles may be recycled, it takes valuable resources to recycle those bottles and they never become new bottles again.
Many people have taken to carrying personal water bottles around to deal with these issues. However, options are lacking for obtaining safe and clean water quickly when an individual is away from home. Therefore, it would be desirable to provide options for people to refill their personal water bottles.